Sunday, December 25, 2011

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Instead of issuing trite holiday greetings, how about commenting on the cupcake confiscation by one of your colleagues at LAS? (posting a link is pointless now as so many articles have cropped up; just Google "TSA cupcake.")

The comment on this confiscation occurring in spite of your repeated reassurances that such food items are allowed including in your 2011 holiday-related posts?

What discipline will the supervisor responsible, who has been named in the press in spite of efforts here and on various boards to suppress his name, receive?

Hint: the right answer is that he was fired before Christmas and had to go tell his family that he lost his job because he confiscated a cupcake from an innocent passenger while on a crazed power trip. But we know that won't happen.

Instead, we'll get PR from the TSA spin machine: Were proper procedures followed? Was the cupcake "voluntarily surrendered" out of an abundance of caution? What other excuses will you make?

Bah Humbug to all of you at TSA responsible for this, supportive of this, and making excuses for this. You are doing your level best to spoil the rest of our Christmases and our liberties.

(We'll see if this post clears your censors. I think my last one failed because I named the responsible supervisor so that he could be subjected to the public shame he deserved, but ABC news has now taken care of that for me.)

Are our tax dollars being spent for the licensing fees for public performance of those copyrighted songs?

Yes, most Christmas tunes are in the public domain, but the video depicts the choir singing "What a Wonderful World", which was written in 1967 and first released in 1968. With our insanely-long copyright terms, even songs this old are still under copyright, so who's footing the bill for the public performance license?

Quoted:"Instead of issuing trite holiday greetings, how about commenting on the cupcake confiscation by one of your colleagues at LAS? (posting a link is pointless now as so many articles have cropped up; just Google "TSA cupcake.")"----------------Did you look at the companie's website before you commented? The cupcake in question was mostly frosting/filling and was airtight sealed in a mason jar. As such it fell under appropriate guidelines as a prohibited item per TSA regs. Sorry to burst your conspiracy theory but the TSO & STSO acting properly per TSA rules. If the TSA rules need to be changed, that is a different matter entirely.

"Hint: the right answer is that he was fired before Christmas and had to go tell his family that he lost his job because he confiscated a cupcake from an innocent passenger while on a crazed power trip."

Sure, taking the cupcake was a stupid mistake, but suggesting that somebody gets fired over a cupcake? Sounds like YOU are the one on a crazed power trip. But, I'm sure YOU have never, ever made a mistake at any job you have ever worked at, so you feel justified in throwing the first stone...

"Sure, taking the cupcake was a stupid mistake, but suggesting that somebody gets fired over a cupcake? Sounds like YOU are the one on a crazed power trip. But, I'm sure YOU have never, ever made a mistake at any job you have ever worked at, so you feel justified in throwing the first stone..."

OK, I feel justified. If the TSO truly thought that such a benign item was a threat, did he/she consult anyone else?

No power trip here but I am paying a very high cost and demand performance. This TSO is obviously not up to the job.

"TSM said....Quoted:"Instead of issuing trite holiday greetings, how about commenting on the cupcake confiscation by one of your colleagues at LAS? (posting a link is pointless now as so many articles have cropped up; just Google "TSA cupcake.")"----------------Did you look at the companie's website before you commented? The cupcake in question was mostly frosting/filling and was airtight sealed in a mason jar. As such it fell under appropriate guidelines as a prohibited item per TSA regs. Sorry to burst your conspiracy theory but the TSO & STSO acting properly per TSA rules. If the TSA rules need to be changed, that is a different matter entirely."

Keep telling yourself that so you can continue justifying the TSA's incompetence.

TSM said... Quoted:"Instead of issuing trite holiday greetings, how about commenting on the cupcake confiscation by one of your colleagues at LAS? (posting a link is pointless now as so many articles have cropped up; just Google "TSA cupcake.")"----------------Did you look at the companie's website before you commented? The cupcake in question was mostly frosting/filling and was airtight sealed in a mason jar. As such it fell under appropriate guidelines as a prohibited item per TSA regs. Sorry to burst your conspiracy theory but the TSO & STSO acting properly per TSA rules. If the TSA rules need to be changed, that is a different matter entirely.

December 30, 2011 12:06 PM....................

TSM, can you please explain a bit more why a cupcake in a mason jar is prohibited?

I fail to see a distinction between in or out of a jar. The jar could be swapped and tested for explosive residue. The item was clear allowing for a visual inspection.

If it was truly prohibited shouldn't the screeners at Boston be disciplined for allowing the item to pass their checkpoint? Or do TSA rules vary so widely that something is ok at Boston but not at other airports?

January 1, 2012 10:48 AM"--------------The 3.4 oz liquids/gels/pastes rule.You know, the one that says any liquid/gel/paste, etc must be under 3.4 oz and placed in a 1 qt ziplock bag. A16oz mason jar with 8 or so oz of filling/frosting in it doesn't qualify. Same as peanut butter or jelly or spaghetti sauce.

TSM wrote:The 3.4 oz liquids/gels/pastes rule.You know, the one that says any liquid/gel/paste, etc must be under 3.4 oz and placed in a 1 qt ziplock bag. A16oz mason jar with 8 or so oz of filling/frosting in it doesn't qualify. Same as peanut butter or jelly or spaghetti sauce.

If you turned the cupcake upside down (lid off jar) would it pour out? If not, it's not a liquid or gel. I don't believe peanut butter is a liquid either in spite of what TSA says. Spaghetti sauce on the other hand is a liquid. Banning pastes is even stupider considering TSA's inconsistent policy regarding cakes.

Why is the mason jar relevant? If the cupcake was in a tupperware container, would it be OK? If TSA truly believed they need to screen the item, I can see asking the passenger to open the sealed jar and running one of your magic test strips or ETD swabs nearby, but not confiscating the jar and cupcake.

And TSA's logic with regards to cakes/pies and the (idiotic) liquid ban makes no sense. TSA touts every year that pies are allowed. They do this not because it's consistent with their rules but because they don't want the bad PR of confiscating pies around the holidays. Pumpkin pie might or might not pass the pour test listed above. Apple buys and blueberry pies would not--they are full of liquid. So how is it that pies are allowed, and cakes slathered in frosting paste are allowed, but not the cupcake.

And yes, in response to another post, I do believe the supervisor should be fired. Yes, I have made mistakes in jobs, but they did not result in unjustified seizure of personal property under color of authority. If this were an isolated incident, I might have some sympathy, but there is so much history of power tripping and unaccountability within TSA that a harsh example needs to be made of power-tripping employees. The supervisor who made this call never felt his job was at risk, never worried that TSA wouldn't back him up, and almost certainly never believed that the item was an actual threat. If TSA kicked some of the people with this attitude to the curb, it might make a bit of difference. Not as much difference as disbanding the agency and firing everyone and turning limited screening for WEI back to the DOT/FAA where it belongs, but still a difference.

"As such it fell under appropriate guidelines as a prohibited item per TSA regs. Sorry to burst your conspiracy theory but the TSO & STSO acting properly per TSA rules. If the TSA rules need to be changed, that is a different matter entirely.

December 30, 2011 12:06 PM....................Found the following in an news piece about the TSA cupcake caper. Apparently according to an authorized TSA Spokesperson the cupcake should have been allowed.

So TSM are you saying that your TSA superiors are wrong and that you know more than they do?

According to a Transportation Security Administration spokesperson the confiscation was in error — the work of an overzealous (or maybe just hungry) screener. “In general, cakes and pies are allowed in carry-on luggage,” said the spokesperson

"The 3.4 oz liquids/gels/pastes rule.You know, the one that says any liquid/gel/paste, etc must be under 3.4 oz and placed in a 1 qt ziplock bag. A16oz mason jar with 8 or so oz of filling/frosting in it doesn't qualify. Same as peanut butter or jelly or spaghetti sauce."

Sorry, TSM, but you're full of it. The TSA has already said that cakes and cupcakes were allowed with no mention of the pulled-from-thin-air 3-1-1 rule.

At Hobby Airport the day after Christmas my wife didn't want to go through the scanner because she is pregnant and instead the agent got offended, told her she was stupid, made her wait for 10 minutes, then felt her up right in front of me and everyone else.

Bless the wonderful ticket agents with Southwest for letting us get on the plane after the jet way had been closed. I think my wife's tears may have helped.

This is the TSA's Happy Holiday Wish to us?

I don't understand. TSA should have better hiring standards. The amount of power these people are given is crazy.

"All TSA jobs require U.S. citizenship and successful completion of a full background investigation. In addition, persons interested in security officer positions must pass a medical examination, be able to read, speak, and write English, and pass a physical ability test, a drug and alcohol screening, and an aptitude test."

No mention of highs school diploma, GED, college degree... Read and write in English? This is our only defense against potential terrorists violating our airplanes?

I think I figured out why you won't answer my question on who is paying the licensing fees for the TSA to publicly perform these copyrighted songs. I suspect that the fees are not being paid, and you don't want to admit it.